648 LEUCANTHEMUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LEYCESTERIA. 



be treated as an annual. It is a showy 

 plant, about 6 in. high, and bears large 

 bright yellow flowers. All these plants 

 thrive best in an open sunny position in a 

 light warm soil. The seeds should be 

 sown early in heat, and the seedlings 

 transplanted in May. 



LEUCANTHEMUM (Alpine Fever- 

 few}. L. alpinum is a very dwarf plant. 

 The leaves are small, and the abundant 

 flowers are supported on hoary little 

 stems i to 3 in. long, are pure white with 

 yellow centres, and are more than I in. 

 across. It is rather quaint and pretty, 

 and well deserves cultivation in bare 

 level places, on poor sandy or gravelly 

 soil in the rock-garden. It is sometimes 

 known as Chrysanthemum arcticum and 

 Pyrethrum alpinum. It is a native of the 

 Alps, and is readily increased by division 

 or seed. (For other species of Leucanthe- 

 mum, see Chrysanthemum.) 



LEUCOJUM (Snowftake). Pretty 

 .bulbs allied to the Snowdrop, but bolder 

 and easily naturalised in rich valley 

 soils. 



L. aestivum (Summer Snowftake}. A 

 vigorous plant, flowers white drooping on 

 stalks i to 1 1 ft. high and clusters of 

 four to eight on a stem, with leaves 

 shaped like those of Daffodils. It blooms 

 early in summer (in many places before 

 the end of spring), and is pretty in mixed 

 borders or on the margins of shrubberies. 

 It thrives in almost any soil, but is 

 strongest in deep alluvial soil, and is 

 multiplied by separation of the bulbs. It 

 is excellent for the wild garden, and 

 increases as rapidly as the common 

 Daffodil. A form of L. aestivum is L. 

 Hernandezi, a native of Majorca and 

 Minorca, growing to about the same 

 height as L. aestivum, but with narrower 

 leaves, flowers only half the size, and 

 usually not more than three flowers on 

 each stem, appearing nearly a month 

 earlier. 



L. vernum (Spring Snowflake\ A 

 beautiful early flower about 6 in. high. 

 The fragrant drooping flower resembles a 

 large Snowdrop, the tips of the petals 

 being marked with a greenish spot. It is 

 excellent for the rock-garden or borders, 

 and thrives in a light, rich soil. Imported 

 bulbs make little show for the first year or 

 two, but when established they flower 

 freely. 



L. carpaticum is considered a variety, 

 bearing two flowers on the stem, flowering 

 a month later. Other cultivated Snow- 

 flakes are L. hyemale and L. roseum ; but 

 these are very rare, and somewhat difficult 

 to cultivate. 



Leucothoe acuminata. 



LEUCOTHOE. Beautiful evergreen 

 shrubs of the Heath family, most of them 

 very old garden plants, and common in 

 collections of American plants. There is 

 a family likeness 

 among the kinds, 

 the best-known 

 being L. acumin- 

 ata, i^ to 2^ ft. 

 high, with slen- 

 der arching 

 stems, in early 

 summer wreath- 

 ed with white bell- 

 shaped pretty 

 flowers. L. axil- 

 laris is similar, 

 and so are L. 

 Catesbsei and L. 

 racemosa, all of 

 which are known under the name Andro- 

 meda. They are natives of N. America, 

 hardy, thriving in light soil, preferring peat, 

 and are suitable for the margins of groups 

 of American shrubs and for low parts of 

 rock-gardens. A newer and very beautiful 

 species is L. Davisiaa, introduced a few 

 years since from California, and not so 

 hardy as the others. It makes a neat 

 little evergreen bush 2 or 3 ft. high, and 

 has small leaves on slender stems, in May 

 bearing clusters of small white flowers. 

 It is one of the choicest of evergreen 

 hardy shrubs, and thrives with Rhodo- 

 dendrons and Azaleas in peat soil. 



LEWISIA (Spatluiti).^ remarkable 

 and beautiful Rocky Mountain plant, allied 

 to Portulaca, L. rediviva being very dwarf 

 I in. or so high, with a small tuft of narrow 

 leaves, from the c.entre of which the flower- 

 stalks arise. The blossoms are large for 

 the size of the plant, being from I to i\ in. 

 across, and vary from deep rose to white. 

 The roots are succulent, and can retain 

 life a long time even when dry, and as the 

 plant sometimes fails to develop leaves an- 

 nually, it is wrongly supposed to be dead. 

 It should be grown in sunshine, for it can- 

 not be flowered in shade, and the crown 

 kept high and dry, though the roots should 

 have moisture. A crevice in the rock- 

 garden is the best situation for it. If 

 grown in pots, the plant should be on 

 broken stones, and the roots in light 

 sandy loam with peat. After flowering, it 

 shrivels up and becomes a withered 

 twisted mass, like so many bits of 

 string. Oregon, Utah, and Rocky 

 Mountains. 



LE YCESTERI A (Flowering Nutmeg). 

 L.formosa is a distinct flowering shrub, 

 a native of the Himalayas, nearly hardy 

 throughout these islands, but much com- 



